Dhyana Linga Temple, Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore

Dhyana Linga Temple Entrance

It's most beautiful modern vedic temple I have ever seen in my life!

I arrived in Pondi from Coimbatore on a rickety bus full of school children eager to practice their English on me. I find the Isha Yoga Center waiting at the end of the bus route.

Not having as much of an affinity to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's teachings as compared to my Master's, I was nonetheless taken aback by the photos of the temple on the net and the scientific processes involved in its design and conception, so much so that I resolved to make the trip to Coimbatore for a visit.

The entire ashram is constructed from inexpensive materials and methods characteristic of the rural south indian style in the region. But the terracotta roof and ceiling tiles, painted plaster walls, wrought iron works, granite slabs and blocks, and timber are put together in such a modern, beautiful way as to transcend the utilitarian, pragmatic manner of construction of said rural dwellings. Most creative is the use of the snake symbol popping up as decorative motifs in the most creative of places!

Sadhguru uses the image of the cobra as a symbol for Shiva, the snakes also correspond to the feminine kundalini shakti counterpart.

The Pièce de Résistance is of course the Dhyana Linga, housed in a dome built by unskilled devotee volunteers, yet constructed in such a geometrically precise manner that every small sound in its enclosure is amplified and reveberated into an otherworldly ambience (my guess is that it is in the shape of a parabolic dom centered on the linga itself). Faint lines on its huge monolithic form section it into seven parts corresponding to its unique characteristic of possessing the energies from seven chakras. In place of the conventional yoni base is a serpent coiled seven times.

I stayed overnight in an extremely clean and beautiful room (only 550 rupees!), the whole ashram felt like a five star resort, minus the exorbitant prices.

Meditation sessions in the temple begins with a dip in the Theerthakund, a huge underground pool with a submerged linga made of mercury, sheltered by a vaulted roof with a beautifully colored mural on the ceiling. In its copper lined icy cold confines, your body and mind is prepared via the energised waters to be receptive of the energies from the Dhyana Linga. This I know to be true because the second time I emerged from its waters I felt my body humming with a beautiful intensity!

Dhyana Linga Temple

Inside the temple itself no poojas or ceremonies are performed. Sahdguru intended the temple to be for pure meditation and transcending religious boundaries, hence the name: Dhyana.. the energy field of the Linga is very very strong. It manifested itself as a throbbing on my agnya and pressure in my Sahasrara. In my afternoon meditation session it got to be so intense I actually felt a discomforting headache. The pain went away after another dip in the Theerthakund.

Had I not been in a hurry to reach Gokarna I would have stayed longer!

1 comment:

Fidarose Isha said...

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